


A Princess in Twilight

by wordbending



Series: Fanbruary 2019 [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Fanbruary 2019, Friendship, Gen, Trans Female Character, Yet Another Zelda Roleswap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 15:36:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17706953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordbending/pseuds/wordbending
Summary: It's late at night, and me and Ganondorf, my best friend, have snuck out of the castle again to have a talk. I have something really important to tell him... but I'm scared to death.What if he thinks it's super weird?!





	A Princess in Twilight

**Author's Note:**

> For [insertdisc5's](http://insertdisc5.tumblr.com/) AU [Yet Another Zelda Roleswap](http://insertdisc5.tumblr.com/post/182430882810). 
> 
> Written for Fanbruary 2019, an event celebrating lesser-known online creators!

The crickets chirp as the sun sets on a Hylian field, far away from any roads. Koroks, holding onto their Deku Leaves, fly overhead, past the treetops. I hear only kids and people who know magic can see them, so who knows how much longer I’ll be able to watch them?

I’m almost twelve, after all - I’m not a kid anymore, no matter what everyone says.

It’s a really boring night, without any of the adventures I normally have, but that’s OK, because I’m scared to death anyway. I have something really, really important to tell my best friend ever, Ganondorf (or “Ganny,” as I like to call him - he hates that name so much, but I think it’s cute!). We snuck out of the castle and went to this field on our horses just so I could talk to him, and just the thought of what I want to say is making my heart pound like crazy.

We got off our horses and he sat down, cross-legged, in the field. I laid in his lap, like I usually do when we’re just sitting and talking, and he gently started to comb his hands through my hair, brushing my bangs out of my face.

“Hey, Ganny?” I say, and then quickly, “I mean, Ganondorf.”

He makes a low hum of acknowledgement and continues to comb my hair.

“Remember… remember when we first met?” I say.

“I do,” he says, his voice a low rumble even in spite of him being only sixteen.

“I was so scared,” I say. Normally, I wouldn’t admit to being scared, but he knows the story anyway, so there’s no point in hiding it.

“I know. You were almost crying.”

“Well, I heard the King of the Gerudo was supposed to be the meanest, scariest dude ever. But all my brothers bowed to you.”

“And instead of bowing, when I came to you, you pointed at me and said…”

“‘I’m not scared of you! I’ll beat you up, you jerk!’ And my Dad told me not to be racist.”

Ganondorf throws his head back and laughs. “It was the most memorable meeting with the Hylian Royal Family I’ve ever had. I liked you instantly.”

I grin up at Ganondorf. “You’d always make excuses to visit me.” I make air quotes. “‘Official business.’”

“My advisors hated it. So did my Aunt Urbosa and my grandmothers.”

“Ugh, Koume and Kotake,” I say, sticking my tongue out at the thought of the two old witches. “They thought you had a crush on me.”

“They wanted to set me up with a nice Gerudo girl instead. I told them I had no interest in any girls, but of course, they never listen.”

“You’d think a community of, like, ninety-nine percent women would be more tolerant.”

Ganondorf raises an eyebrow. “Is that sarcasm?”

I wave my hands. “No, no, I was being totally sincere!” I suddenly think of the image of me and Ganondorf marrying and laugh, a boisterous - but still cute! - laugh. “Can you, like, even believe that though? You and me, uh, together? Like _that_?”

“Perish the thought,” says Ganondorf. “I’d rather marry a River Zora.”

“Hey, that’s rude!” I say, puffing up my cheeks, more than a little offended. But then it passes with a sigh, because I can’t really stay mad at Ganondorf for long. “Though, that reminds me… remember when I dived into a lake? Fully clothed?”

“You thought you’d seen a sword at the bottom of it,” says Ganondorf. “But you never found it. All you did was get swarmed by River Zora.”

“You dived in and rescued me.” I grin again. “My dashing hero.”

“We got into many adventures like that,” Ganondorf says, smiling one of the rare, small smiles I know very well. “You always snuck out of the window of your room, climbing down a tree. And I’d always sneak out of my tent to meet you. And we’d spend the whole day exploring caves, ancient ruins, mysterious temples...”

“One time, we, uh, went into a cave… and...”

“And there was a nest of Winged Mothula inside.” He mimes pulling a bow string. “You had to fight one off with your bow because it flew too high for me to reach with my sword - you had the idea to light your arrows on fire using a torch. Very clever.”

“It still stung me before we took it down,” I say, wincing. “It really hurt.”

“I had to stitch your wound myself, so you wouldn’t get caught sneaking out again.”

“I got caught anyway. My nurse found out. I still have the scar…” I reach for the bottom of my shirt. “Wanna see?”

Ganondorf cringes. “No.”

“Aww. It’s really cool though. I bet it’s cooler than _your_ scars.”

“Enough about the scar,” sighs Ganondorf.

“Fiiiiine,” I sigh back. “But… remember that one time I went to your home?”

“The Gerudo Desert,” he says. “Nothing but sand for miles and miles. Sand and blistering heat, not a drop of water to be found.” He pats the grass next to me as I imagine the Gerudo Desert, the infinity of sand, nothing but Gerudo fortresses and cities dotting the horizon. “Nothing like this place.”

“...You, uh, really don’t like your home, do you?”

Ganondorf shrugs. “I like surfing.”

“Oh, with the Sand Seals? I remember when I tried to do that.”

“You were good at it.”

“But not as good as _you,”_ I say, then mutter, “Like everything else…”

“I can’t help that I’ve been doing it since I could walk.”

“You say that about _everything!_ I’ve been using the bow since _I_ could walk, and you’re, like, totally way better with that than I am!”

“I seriously doubt that. Are you still doing this whole ‘I’m going to be your rival’ thing?”

I thought about it, remembering the first time I had shouted those words at him, when he’d beaten me in yet another Sand Seal race. “Maybe.”

“You tried so hard to impress me when you decided that. You did everything you could. You even showed me your library.”

“But then you took me to the Gerudo Royal Library, and it was _huge!_ It must be, like, ten thousand years old!”

“It _is_ ten thousand years old.”

“Oh.” I blink up at him. “Is that why… it talks about the…”

“The old Ganondorfs?”

“The _evil_ Ganondorfs,” I say firmly.

“Yes,” Ganondorf agrees. He frowns, and I think that he looks surprisingly uncomfortable. “You aren’t… still convinced that’s the destiny I share, are you?”

I close my eyes. I remember the many fights me and Ganondorf had over it, when I’d read that book and learned about the many Ganondorfs before him - how they all tried to capture or kill my ancestors, how they were “The Great King Of Evil” and “The King of Thieves” and such. I had thought that’s what the Ganondorf I knew was going to grow up to be too - some kind of monster, unrecognizable from the Ganondorf in front of me.

“No,” I say. I reach up and brush his cheek. He doesn’t blush, but he looks even more uncomfortable, like he’s deep in thought. “You’re my best friend. You’re, like, the nicest, coolest dude I know. You’re kind, and gentle, and good… you’re nothing like _those_ Ganondorfs.”

Ganondorf sighs. “I know. And yet I…” He closes his eyes. “Nevermind. Forget it.” He smiles down at me, a gentle smile. “You wanted to tell me something, if I recall correctly. What was it?”

I’d blinked in surprise. I’d almost forgotten that I’d wanted to tell him something, that I _didn’t_ want to just reminisce with him.

And… it was something important.

“It’s… well, I’m scared again. Like when I met you. But you’re going to think it’s because of something… weird,” I say, rubbing my arm.

“I won’t,” he says.

“Yeah, you will, trust me. Because it _is_ weird,” I say. “But I’ve been thinking about it for a long, long time… I haven’t told anyone else. And you can’t tell anyone else either, OK?! Especially not my Dad!”

He raises a hand to his heart. “I promise. Your secrets are safe with me.”

I let out another sigh. “Well, the truth is… I don’t want to be a prince. My Dad is always telling me to be like my older brothers, but I don’t want to be like them at all.”

He nods. “I often resent my responsibilities as well. I often wonder why I was born a boy.”

“That’s exactly it!” I say immediately. “I often wonder why _I_ was born a boy!”

Ganondorf looks confused. “But… you aren’t a Gerudo.”

“But I don’t want to be a boy either!” I say, glad I’m too far away from any passing caravans for them to hear me. My voice becomes quieter. “I want to be… a Princess.”

Ganondorf goes quiet too.

“I want to be… Zelda. Princess Zelda. Like my ancestors.” I look away from him. “Is that… is that weird?”

Ganondorf says nothing.

I stand up, annoyed.

“I know,” I say, “That’s… stupid.”

I start to walk away, towards my horse, and suddenly, something grabs my wrist.

It’s Ganondorf. His touch is as gentle as a feather, in spite of his strength.

I turn around and Ganondorf has stood up. The moment I turn to look at him, he bows on one knee - he’s so tall (or I’m so short) that even him on one knee is nearly eye-level with me.

He takes my bare, ungloved hand, lifts it to his lips, and kisses it.

“Then let this twilight mark the hour of the birth of Princess Zelda.”

My heart pounds like a drum. I feel myself blush, and I shake my head to shake it off.

“Don’t you think this is… like, bizarre?” I say, in a low voice. “Who’s ever heard of a prince becoming a princess?”

“I have,” says Ganondorf, staring straight at me. “The ancient Zeldas, your ancestors… they were not all born women. And some became men, or neither men nor women, during their journeys. But, even if that were not true, I would still accept you for who you say you are.”

I stare back down at him, unable to believe what I’m hearing.

And then I burst into tears. My face grows hot, the tears that come from my eyes are hot, and I start crying so hard that snot runs down my nose. It’s embarrassing and undignified and I don’t care because I’m pulling Ganondorf into the tightest hug I’ve ever given him.

“Thank you, thank you,” I say, over and over and over again.

He hugs me back gently, patting my back. “Of course, Princess.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my friend Ivy for betaing this fic for me!


End file.
